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If Y*a Don't Read The Chronicle You Don’t Get the News The Chronicle Strives To Be A Clean News paper, Complete, Newsy and Reliable .1 Volume LVI V Clinton, S. C, Thursday, July 28, 1955 Number 30 i Fair On Tonight AndFriday Featares Beauty, Talent, Exhibits South Carolina’s largest tour ing rural show, described as the South Carolina Electric Fair, will pitch its tent at the county fair grounds today and Friday for its fourth annual showing in the county under the auspices of the Laurens Electric Coopera tives, Inc., it is announced by Henry M. Far is, manager of the cooperative. The show will be held in con junction with the annual meeting of the cooperative when four new directors will be elected. According to Manager Faris, the fair will be held in what is probably the biggest tent ever erected here, with a seating ca pacity of 1,500 or 500 more than the tent of last year. In addition to a full program of entertainment,' a series of con- will be held for town and itry people, prizes will be led and the latest in farm home equipment will be on display. Various appliance and equip ment dealers will exhibit their home appliances and demon- Strate them. Equipment dealers will also show their wane. Three contests are on the pro- gi*m for the two-day fair. They are a beauty contest, a talent contest and a tractor driving con test. Cash prizes in the beauty and talent contests will be $25, $15, and $10; in the tractor driving gontest, $15, $10, and $5. '•' Elimination events in the * auty and talent contests will held tonight in the big tent. The finals will be conducted Fri- be announced. The first prize winner in the beauty contest will be crowned “Miss Laurens Electric Co-Op.’’ The title will qualify her to com pete for the title of “Miss South 4§ (Contirtued on Page 4) < Thousand New Users Of Natural . At Ridgecrest Baptist Center ^ m > i L. V. POWELL MISS McCRARY Clintonian Feeds 1400 Each Aftapf Has Never Rim Out of Food for Crowd 6as Are Sought The Clinton - Newberry Gas Authority held a dinner meeting on Friday evening at the Wise man hotel in Newberry to map plans for a sales contest, with Ihe gas dealers of the two cities par ticipating. Also, the authority pre sented its consulting engineer, William D. Edwards, Jr., who made remarks about costs and other as pects of gas. James E. Wiseman, maiyor of Newberry, presided as chairman of the authority. He pointed out that a goal of one thousand new gas customers by January 1, 1056, has been set, and that a total of $2,500 will be paid out in oash .prizes to dealers and their custo mers. The event is slated to be gin on Monday, August 1. Top prize will be $500.00 to the win ning store. Two second prizes of $300.00 each are to be given to some lucky firms in Clinton and Newberry. Mr. Wiseman presented Mr. Ed wards for his ideas and onmions on (Continued on Page 4) Feeding over 2,400 people at one sitting requires quite an or ganization. And that is what the dining room and kitchen at Ridge crest Baptist Assembly grounds in North Carolina possesses under the leadership of L. V. PoweH, steward, and Miss Mavis Mc Crary, dining room hostess. Few persons realize how much is involved in feeding thousands of Baptists during the summer at Ridgecrest. Hundreds of young relinquish their summers so that preparation' and handling of food may be economical and satisfac tory. There are only five professional workers in the entire organization. The rest are “staffers," who prior to serving in the kitchen or dining room may never have known more than the difference between a knife and a fork — and some haven’t known that according to “Uncle Vernon.’’ “Uncle Vernon,’’ as he is affec tionately called by gome, is Vernon Powell of Presbyterian college, Clinton, whose official title is steward of the-Ridgecrest kitchen He heads the dining and kitchen department at Presbyterian col lege during the college year. Mrs. Powell acts as her hus band’s assistant and has supervi sion of all the bookkeeping that is required of such an organization. She oversees the salad department as well as keeping an accurate ac count of the food costs. Vera Hunter comes as close to being the most important person in the organization as anyone, for ■he is First Cook. Vera, “B. B.”, serves as cook at Presbyterian col lege during the fall and winter. Clarence Roberson, also of Pres byterian college, assists her as second coon. Sam Johnson, Asheviil School for Boys, is the chief baker. • The remaining food handlers consists of students or teachers who give their time during the summer in exchange for the fel lowship and inspiration which they receive at Ridgecrert. And us ually every year there are four applications for the positions to every one that can be accepted. . The food service department is divided into two large categories. Mr. Powell heads the preparation division, and Miss Mavis M<£rary, former home economics school teacher from Plantersville, Ala., directs the service division. Mr. Powell’s responsibilities in clude planning the menus, pur chasing the food, auditing food costs and ingredients, instructing the cooks, getting the food cooked and into serving bowls ready to serve. Miss McCrary’s responsibilities begin at this point, and she directs the serving of the food and the cleaning up of the dining room after the meal. Mr. PoweH attended North Greenville Baptist Academy and Junior college and Presbyterian college. While a student he worked in the departments of dairying, canning, carpentry, plumbing, food service, and the butcher and electrical shops. He also worked with a commercial cafeteria and wholesale food and produce house later. During the second world war he taught cooking and mess manage ment in this country one and a (Continued on Page 8) Delegation Makes Loan $150^000 . Is Aftermath of Of Bond Mixup Laurens, July 21—A resolution to borrow $150,000 for work and repairs in Laurens county was approved unanimuosly yesterday by the legislative delegation. Rep. King Dixon, the only member of the delegation who had not previously signed the resolution, signed yesterday and Rep. Charles L. Milam in effect, withdrew a request that his sig- nature be withdrawn from the resolution. The loan for the $150,000 for rood work, road machinery, re pairs to the court house and moving the sheriffs office, had been approved by a majority of the delegation including the sen ator at a meeting June 30 and the meeting yesterday was to clear up some details and get unanimous approval. Supervisor Bennie B. Blakely explained that Rep. Milam’s re quest as to his signature applied only until the meeting could be held and the situatino gone over more thoroughly. Other members of the delega tion who had previously signed the resolution were Sen. Ralph T. Wilson and Rep. Robert C. Wasson. At least one member of the delegation had suggested the use of funds set aside by statute for interest and retirement of out standing bond issues instead of making a loan. Robert C. Wasson, secretary of the delegation, Tuesday confirm- (Continued on Page 8) 95th Army Band at Camp Stewart for Summer Training The 95th Army Band, based at the Clinton The nnlt, under the command of Warrant Officer tional Guard. Mobile. Ala., while at camp. Is shown above at Camp Stewart. Ga.. during their recent two-week encampment. F. Mills, was attached to the 226th Anticraft Artillery group, of the Alabama Na- Synod Continues Its Sessions Here \ • r Presbyterians Name Knox Moderator The Rev. H. A. Knox of An drews, a Presbyterian minister for 50 years, was elected mode rator of the South Carolina Pres byterian Synod at the annual meeting here Tuesday night. Approximately 200 ministers and laymen registered for the opening session of the three-day meeting. The Rev. F. B. Mayes of North Charleston, retiring moderator, sounded the keynote today in his opening sermon, "The Gospel, the Power of God to Save." His text was Romans, 116, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Power of God unto salvation.” The retiring moderator said man today is power conscious and that the amount of power man is able to release increases the threat of misuse. Mr. Knox was nominated by the Rev. Russell W. Park of Olanta, who cited Mr. Knox’s 50 years as a Presbyterian minister —all but a year and a half of which was spent in the South Carolina Synod. The program Tuesday night included memorial services for ministers who died during the year. , Can You Tell Us Whose Farm This Is? will roceivo free of charge the picture from which the above An evangelistic conference was held in the afternoon, led by Dr. Edward E. Lilly of Charleston. Committee reports and general synod business occupied the meeting yesterday beginning at 9:00 a. m., and Thursday will see a continuation of reports of com mittees, election of trustees of the various church institutions, and general business. Speakers yesterday included Dr. William H. McCorkle, of At lanta, Ga., director of evangelism of the general assembly, and the Rev. William P. Anderson, head of the department of adult and family life of the general as sembly. Last night’s session included the presentation of a portrait of Mrs. M. R. Kirkpatrick to the synod by Mrs. W. Rex Josey, president of the Women of the Church in South Carolina. Following the selection of the time and place for the next meet ing and reports of standing com mittees, the synod is expected to adjourn this (Thursday) after noon. Supper will be served at the college at 6:00 p. m. Local Scout Officials Attend Executive Meet At Camp Old Indian J. B. Templeton, W. C. Bald win, A. C. Young and Wyatt Pat terson of Laurens, all Executive Board members of the Blue Ridge Council, Boy Scouts of America .attended the regular meeting of the Executive Board Tuesday evening at Camp Old Indian. A. C. Young is Laurens County District chairman this year. Merchant Named Vice President Of Pastors At Junaluska v The Rev. J. E. Merchant was named vice-president of the pas tors section of the nine-state Southeastern Methodist Minis ters conference for the coming year at Lake Junaluska, N. C., during the past week. Mr. Merchant, pastor of Broad Street Methodist church, has been away for two weeks and attended the conference. He was accompanied by Mrs. Merchant. DILLARD REUNION The annual reunion of the fami lies of the late T. J. Dillard and Ann Adair Dillard will be held on August 7 at Mineral Springs near Laurens. All relatives Mid friends are asked to come and bring pic nic Lehn Heads Anderson Hosiery Co. Gary Lehn has been named executive vice president and gen eral manager of C. W. Andjerson Hosiery Co., and Dapper Hosiery Mills of this city, it was stated yes terday by C. W. Anderson, presi dent of the two compsnies. Dapper Hosiery Mills is a manu facturing unit and C. W. Anderson Hosiery Co. is a finishing and sell ing organization, both plants and offices being located in Clinton. C. W. Anderson Co. controls the Dapper Mills. At the same time Mr. Anderson said that John W. Finney, Jr., had been named as vice president of the company in charge of sales. Mr. Anderson said that the re organization was made to relieve him of responsibilities of local operates to allow him to devote his flme to^ekpkndlng operations of the company in other states. They now cover 13 states. He will continue as president of the two companies. Lehn has been connected with the Anderson hosiery interests since 1946, coming here from Mil waukee, Wis., after service in the army air force during World War II. Finney has been with the sales department of the company since 1938. Miss Dorothy Taylor is secretary of the company. R. A. Stephenson is superinten dent of production at Dapper Hos iery Mills, and Harry Nettles is superintendent of the finishii* plant. Thirty-Two Make PC Dean's List For Second Semester Thirty-two Presbyterian Col lege students made the Dean’s List for the second semester of the 1964-55 session, Registrar G Edward Campbell announced to day. Nine of these students made all “A" records for this period. Those scholars making the all “A” records were: Mrs. Helen N. Pritchard of Bramwell, W. Va.; Marcus W. Adams of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Fred Bums of Lau rens; John Hall of Atlanta; John Knox of Decatur, Ga.; Leslie Pat terson of Colombia; Edwin Ray- Laurens County Families Average $4,542 In 1954 11,000 Families Had Net Ikmm, After Taxes, of. $53,136,000 County Agent Is On Western Trip C. B. Cannon, county farm agent, and Mrs. Cannon, with their daughter. Miss Myrtle Can non, are on a vacation tour of western states. Their primary destination will be the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and Utah. They are expecting to be away until the last of the month. In the absence of Mr Cannon activities at the county agent’s office are being directed by J. S. Boozer and John F. Wise, as sistant agents. Hickory Tavern Firm Bid Is Low On Sheriff's New Quarters A Hickory Tavern contracting firm was the low bidder Monday for new sheriffs quarters pro vided for by the delegation in the recent session of the legislature. Supervisor Bennie B. Blakely said after a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners Mon day that Pitts and Lollis of Hick ory Tavern had put in the low bid of $5,328 for the job and that the firm had been instructed to go ahead with the work. The new quarters are: to be lo cated in the former Farmers Club Market building in the rear of the county agricultural build ing and a few hundred fe«t' from the jail. The building will be divided into halves, Mr. Blakely said, one half to be used as the sheriffs offices and the other half by the (Special to The Chronicle) New York, July 25—Prosperity is on the march ih Laurens coun ty with families earning more and spending more than those in most sections of the United States.. The facts are revealed in Sales Management's new copyrighted survey of buying power, covering the entire country. They show that business ac tivity in Laurens county reach ed new heights in the past year, with retail stores chalking up a sales volume of $26,471,000. The large-scale buying, which moa&L .more luxuirous living, is tied to a prosperous, growing population. Better earnings made it possible. The data shows that the 11,700 families in Laurens county had a net income last year, after deduction of presonal taxes, of $53,126,000. It marked a gain over the $52,025,000 ac counted for in 1953. present occupant, the county forest ranger. The removal of the sheriff ^ to new quarters grew out of an ef fort to provide more room in the court house for the judge of pro bate’s office, it was explained by Sen. R. T. Wilson when the legis- ) lation was enacted. Under the plan the judge of probate’s office will be extended into the present area of the office of the superin tendent of education and the su perintendent will take the space now occupied by the sheriff. Work on the sheriffs quarters is expected to take a month or two, Mr. Blakely said. . The local earnings total, di vided by the number of families in the county, represents a net income of $4,542 per family. This was more than was earn ed by families generally through out the State of South Carolina, $4,130. The figures are arith metic averages. The general rising income sit uation, the experts agree, is a sound one, based on a stabilized dollar and an economy built on growing private enterprise and decreasing defense spending. A guide to each community's business potential is given through a figure called “buying power quota,’’ which is based on number of people, money avail able sales and related factors. It shows that Laurens county is capable of producing 0211 per cent of the nation’s business, rather than the .0156 pre cent for which it was responsible last year. The rest represents un tapped potential. Families in all income brackets -are affected. They find confi dence in the future, with the se curity of their stakes in pension funds, savings and their equi ties and investments. They are less hesitant, therefore, to take on new obligations to meet out of future income. CASON AT SUMMER CAMP Robert Lewis Cason, of this city, student at Clemson college, has been undergoing summer training at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md„ for ordnance ROTC cadets. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Cason. Social Security Payments In County $54,000 Month In Laurens county at the end of last year 606 retired workers were receiving $31,597 in month ly social security payments, ac cording to figures just released by Martha F. Pressly, Social Se- curity Administration district manager in Greenwood. In addition to the field of Norfolk, Va.; Robert Reynolds of Clinton; and Tommy 1 workers themseK-eS; ^844 Richards of Heath Springs. The other Dean’s List mem- were receiving $25,157 a retired people month this year. Among the amend ments that went into effect on the first orf the year, one changes the rules for receiving payments while the beneficiary is work ing, one extends coverage to many kinds of work that did- not count toward social security ben efits before 1955. and another increases the maximum amount of annual earnings creditable te as dependents of aged workers bers” Miss Frances Winn. Missi^ f survivors of those who had Ellen Fraser, Charles Sloan, and ^ ie “- Frank Young, all of Clinton; These amounts represent an in -1 Robert B. Harrington of Darling-j crease of 34 cent over the ton; Edward Hay of Wadmalaw beneflts bein * P aid at the end of ! Island; Ray Lord of Dublin, Ga.; : 1953 - Miss Pressl y P° inted out '| Gene Butler of Conway; Frank due Primarily to the 1954 amend- Harrington of New Zion; Herbert ment * the social security law. Laws of Cleveland. Tenn.; Bill whlch ‘"creased all benefits McCutchen of Birmingham; Car- ? ne of the changes in the law ter Martin of York: Tommv P^bL- for the first i Reeves of Denmark; Fred time for the survivors of some Thompson of Atlanta; Charles workers who died after 1939 and Whisnant of Charlotte; Sam Workman and Monty Cook, both of Laurens; Guy Haddix, of Phil- lippi, W. Va.; Bill Hamilton of Decatur, Ga.; Jack Lott of Johnin ton; James Regehr of Charlotte; Frnaklin Sapp of Columbia; and William K. Stac? of Anderson. Sgt. Webb Serving At Miami Air Base S^Sgt. Ernest L. Webb, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Webb of 108 Airport Road, is serving with the tod Marine Aircraft Wing’s In strument Training Squadron at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miami, Fla. before September 1950. to quail fy for payments. Beginning in September 1954, the amendments permit the •"“dropping out’’ of up to 5 years of lowest earnings in figuring the worker’s average monthly wage. This has the effect of increasing the average earnings, from which the monthly pay-1 men is are figured. Other improvements in the law did not go into effect until the first day of 1955; although these changes had not affected the payments that were being made at the' end of 1954, they will contribute to further increases in the total amuont of benefits pay able in Laurens county during Changes Made In 1954 A major change made by the 1954 Amendments was provis- | ion of a method by which to tally disabled workers can protect their future benefit rights by "freezing'' their ac- social security wage records while they are disabled. This can increase the payments now being made to many people who are already 65 but were disabled for a considerable pe riod before they reached 65. ward social security benefits be fore 1955, and another increases the maximum amount of annual earnings creditable toward ben efits from $3,600 to $4,200. Of the workers receiving in surance benefits m Laurens bounty at the end of the year, 146 had wives or husbands who were entitled to payments as de pendents. Benefits to wives and aged dependent husbands amounted to $3,940 per month. Children made up a large group of beneficiaries; 508 of them were receiving $14,127 in benefits at the end of the year. Most of these were children of younger workers who had died, but some were children of retir ed workers. If their father has died and children receiving benefits are in the care o4. their mother, the mother also receives benefits. In Laurens county 91 mothers re ceived $3,100 per month at the end of 1954. $3,981 a month went to 99 agfed widows and aged dependent wid owers and parents of deceased workers. These local figures for old age survivors insurance payments re flect a national trend. Miss Pressly pointed out. In the county as a whole, there were 6,886,480 people receiving bene fit payments at the end of 1954 —nearly a million more than in December. 1953. Miss Pressly stressed the im portance of these benefits as the greatest or the only source of in come to many of the families who received them. “Two out of three people now reaching age 65 can qualify for old age and survivors insurance benefits,” she said, “and nine out of ten mothers and children in the country are assured of survivors benefits in case of the death of the family breadwinner.’’ Money to pay these benefits comes from the old age and sur vivors insurance trust fund, which is built up from social se curity tax contrbiutions of work ers, their employers and self- employed people.